The lyrics to the old song, Dem Bones don’t connect the hipbone directly to your mouth, but a surgeon might, by canceling hip surgery if the patient is suffering from acute gum disease. The reason for the cancellation would be for what is commonly referred to as the “mouth-body connection,” where infections in the mouth have been known to travel to other parts of the body and compromise the success of seemingly unrelated medical procedures.

While the image of a puffy-cheeked ball player might first come to mind when mentioning chewing (“spit”) tobacco, the reality is that smokeless tobacco is also a daily habit to millions of everyday North Americans, both young and old.

It’s important to know that, just because chewing tobacco is smokeless, it’s far from harmless. In fact, all forms of smokeless tobacco contain high concentrations of cancer-causing agents, and because of the practice of “chewing” and “dipping,” tobacco and its juices are left in contact within and around the oral cavity for extended periods of time. This extended exposure subjects users to an increased risk of cancer, not only of the mouth (including cancer of the lip, cheeks, tongue, gums, floor and roof of the mouth), but also of pharynx, larynx and esophagus.